Within The Crypt Gallery is a medieval undercroft, or vaulted chamber, believed to date to the mid 13th century and traditionally known as ‘The Crypt’. Apart from a small section of the nearby church, the structure is the oldest surviving building in Seaford.

The undercroft is constructed of two bays of quadri-partate vaulting featuring early English sandstone bosses, indicating Seaford's considerable status at the time as a Cinque Port. The walls are built with flint and the space is approximately 8.2m long, 4m wide and 1.7m high.

The undercroft is entered using original steps from a doorway on its east side which is dressed with Caen stone and has a corbelled roof. Within the rebate of the door frame is a slot with its depth matching the width of the door. This would have held a long thick timber bar which would have been slid across the door and into a notch from the inside to make it secure.

The undercroft itself would have originally been entered by people other than the merchant from the outside through a painted door way and down the flight of steps on the north side of the property, which is the door still in use within the gallery.

Excavations in 1993 found no evidence of a road by this main door confirming the theory that the undercroft is highly likely to have originally been sited to the back of a medieval merchant house and semi-sunken. What is known is that the undercroft and the building above it would have been constructed by a prosperous member of the community given that they were built in stone rather than timber. It was the house to the front which was on what was then the main road of the town which led from the port to the church.

'The Folly' probably just after the War. The door that leads down to the undercroft can just be seen behind the tree.

On the east side of the wall is another doorway, much narrower than the main external door on the north side. This is an internal doorway as it has no rebate to hold an actual door. It would have led to the merchant's house to the front, where the front part of the gallery is now. There is a built-in wall cupboard to the right as the stairs turn left to go up to the house. It has iron pintels where a door originally hung and markings to indicate that there was once a shelf in the cupboard. The most obvious explanation for the cupboard is that it acted as a safe for the merchant in which he locked his takings before ascending the steps into his home.

The windows on the north wall are original and would have been the only natural source of light in the undercroft. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that this would have been where the merchant placed his desk. The windows on the west wall are Victorian (they did not exist in Mark Antony Lower's 1855 etching) but sympathetically installed to blend in with the original architecture. There is also a small recess to the left of the internal stairs which may have housed a hinged shutter directly into the house.

A domestic or trade undercroft dating from the medieval period would typically comprise two or more vaulted bays depending upon the wealth of the owner. Their stone construction meant they were fireproof and therefore used for the storage of provisions or items of special value. Placed beneath fully or partially beneath ground level, the temperature would remain relatively constant and the room could be kept under close supervision. The fact that undercrofts were frequently sunken to some degree has aided their preservation after the buildings above fell into disuse or were replaced by other structures, as was also the case of the undercroft below The Crypt Gallery.

In the 13th century Seaford was an important town known as a Cinque Port which meant that in exchange for certain privileges, including lower taxes and a regular market, the town had to provide manpower and ships to the King when they were needed to defend the coast. Seaford was a thriving port at the time and its main export was wool which was purchased by buyers from France and Flanders for export back to these countries, both of which had noted textile industries.

It is believed that this undercroft was indeed a wool store for a merchant exporting wool as well as a wine cellar for the wine he imported on the empty ships returning from trade destinations across the channel, hence the vine leaves on the ceiling bosses. It was probably also used by the merchant, one of 16 wool merchants in Seaford, to show favoured clients special stock items which the merchant did not want on general display. The build quality of the undercroft would have served to impress upon his visitors the merchant's status in the community.

Seaford's economy declined in the 14th century, firstly after suffering raids by Flemish pirates and the French during the 100 Years War when much of the town was erased by fire, and then by further population decimation due to the Black Death in 1348/9. The Court Rolls of 1357 state:

"The town of Seaford has been lately for the most part burned down and further devastated by pestilence and the calamities of war so that the townsmen have become so few that they can neither bear their burdens nor undertake the defence of the town against its enemies."

If it wasn't for the Royal Bailiff reminding the surviving residents of their duties as a Cinque Port the town would have been abandoned completely and the stone and timber of remaining buildings sold off.

The final sabotage to Seaford's status came in the 16th century when the large lagoon like harbour at the outlet of the Ouse silted up after frequent storms and subsequent floods. As a result, by 1565, the inlet had shifted west and Newhaven took over Seaford's role as the local major economic centre and port.

By the 1800s several cottages had been erected around the site whilst the undercroft itself was subsumed into a building known as 'The Folly' which, according to Memorials of the Town, Parish and Cinque Port of Seaford published in 1854 by Mark Antony Lower, was in the garden of house owned by a William Allfrey Esq.

Bombing during World War Two flattened the buildings above the undercroft and revealed the structure once again. The fact that the undercroft survived the bombings whilst buildings around it collapsed is testament to the strength and quality of the building structure. The undercroft was said to be used as a bomb shelter and pencilled graffiti on the walls and vaulting ribs, still visible, is witness to the presence of people in the space, whether there for shelter or fun before, during and after the war.

Plans to redevelop Seaford after the war brought with them a threat to demolish this ancient facility. The undercroft had in fact been scheduled as an Ancient Monument in 1939 by The Ministry of Works and was therefore protected. The surroundings having been left as an empty bomb site after the war, the undercroft, together with other land, was then purchased by the council in 1947. The council attempted to remove the undercroft from its protected status so that it could be demolished prior to development of the land. However, the Ministry of Works came to the rescue by deeming the structure too important for its removal from the Statutory List. By 1949 the council agreed not to sell or lease the building to any private individual and in 1950 the undercroft was scheduled as being of special architectural or historical interest.

Having been saved, the undercroft and what was left of the folly's structure around it remained untouched for many years, its conditions slowly deteriorating in the coastal conditions. Minor works were done sporadically to protect the undercroft from the weather but no use was found for the structure despite many suggestions over the years. Despite being scheduled by the Ministry of Works, no funds were forthcoming to restore the building and so it stayed for many years, surrounded by a car park.

In the 1990s, after a campaign led by local historian John Odam and Councillor Diana Styles, the council took the decision to incorporate the undercroft into its rebuilding scheme and create a gallery around it. Prior to the start of the project, the Field Archaeology Unit from University College London did a survey of the site and found pottery ranging from the 12th-16th Century but mainly 13th century, storage jars buried up to their lips, cess pits and rubbish pits. The archaeologists also produced an extensive report of the structure and some of the information is incorporated into this brief history.

The undercroft below The Crypt Gallery in Seaford survives with some impressive medieval architectural details. It provides an important testament to the early history of the town, and all domestic undercrofts of the medieval period with significant surviving archaeological remains are considered worthy of protection. As such, the undercroft is a Scheduled Monument listed by Historic England.

The undercroft can be accessed free of charge by visiting the Crypt Gallery any time it's open for an exhibition.

To read the full archaeological report including photos of the undercroft prior to restoration, just click here.

To read the Sussex Archaeological Society's booklet on the history and archaeology of medieval Seaford, including a section on the undercroft in The Crypt Gallery, click here

Sources:

Heritage England

Memorials of the Town, Parish and Cinque Port of Seaford published in 1854 by Mark Antony Lower MA FSA

John Odam, article in The Sussex Express, 22 April 1994

Archaeological Survey by David Martin MIFA and Barbara Martin AIFA, Field Archaeological Unit, Institute of Archaeology, University College London

Kevin Gordon

Diana Hitchin

Seaford Museum

Sussex Archaeological Society